Drilling or cutting tools are prone to failure when cutting into very hard material compressed to high pressures and/or heated to high temperatures or when used in corrosive environments, such as those found in deep well oil drilling environments. Conventional cutting tools are comprised of a metal amalgam applied to a hard metal bit head, most often a titanium bit head. The metal amalgam is impregnated with diamond shards, which are the tool's actual cutting elements. A principal failure mode is caused by the temperature differential generated between the amalgam's cutting surface and the bit head to which it is attached. Friction induced by cutting into hard material, cutting into highly pressurized materials, or cutting into hot materials will frequently generate sufficient heat differentials between the cutting surface and the bit head to crack the tool. These conditions are quite often present when drilling for fossil fuels at greater depths. In these instances, mechanical failures have high carrying costs due to longer periods lost time encumbered in replacing the drill bit.
In view of the above discussion, it would be beneficial to have a cutting tool that is less prone to failure when cutting through hard materials, highly pressurized materials, or materials heated to elevated temperatures.